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Tiffany Newell spent a lot of time in hospitals growing up due to broken bones from a rare genetic disorder.
As a teenager, she still frequents the hospital — but now does it voluntarily.

The 16-year-old spends her summers volunteering in the CAT Scan department at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township and also volunteers there on days she has off from school.

“I know how it feels to be in a hospital. I know how nice people were to me and know how they made me feel,” Tiffany said. “I feel really good about myself.”

Tiffany does a lot of the little things in the department, like placing new linens on the CAT Scan machine after each use, helping people fill out forms and escorting patients around the large facility.

It’s not easy for the teenager.

Tiffany, the daughter of Tim and Wendi Newell of Jenkins Township, has osteogenesis imperfecta, commonly known as “brittle bone disease.” The Pittston Area High School junior has broken bones repeatedly since she was a baby, including two years ago when she fractured 12 vertebrae and her hip, requiring her to use a wheelchair.

“She’s been in and out of casts, braces, walkers, crutches, you name it, through her whole life,” Tiffany’s mother, Wendi Newell, said.

Wendi Newell, who is a radiation oncology nurse at the hospital, said her daughter spends just about all her free time helping others as a volunteer at the hospital.

“She absolutely loves helping the patients, because she’s been there. She’s been on the CAT Scan machine, she knows what it’s like to be scared. If she can make them calm in any way, she loves doing it,” Newell said.

When she’s not volunteering at Geisinger or going to school, Tiffany also works at Quinn’s Market in Pittston. She’s close to obtaining her Gold Award, the highest award in the Girls Scouts. Her project is decorating medical equipment with decorative duct tape. She noted she has nearly 200 rolls of the tape.

Tiffany said she likes volunteering at Geisinger so much that she convinced her brother, T.J., 14, to start working there too. People aren’t always so happy to be in the hospital and she tries to help make their day better, Tiffany said.

“I like to talk to people,” the teenager said. “I like to explain things and let them feel a little better about what’s happening.”

While Tiffany does a lot of the little things around the department, her co-workers say she is an important piece of the team.

“She’s like part of the family,” said Linda Ardoline, an employee of the CAT Scan department who delivered flowers to Tiffany on the day of her newspaper interview. “I don’t know many kids who would come to work in the summer.”

Tiffany says she feels lucky and the experience is preparing her for her dream to attend the University of Pittsburgh and become a radiologist.

“I really enjoy it so much. It’s not like my mom is forcing me to be here,” Tiffany said. “I like it a lot. I love everybody here. I’m really blessed to have everyone here around me.”

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055 @cvbobkal

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